Bridging Theory and Technologies in Physical Oncology

Cancer is an emergent phenomenon arising from changes in gene expression, architecture, metabolic and signaling networks during normal-malignant transformation of tissues. Each of these changes has be harnessed for technologies used for detection and therapeutic strategies. Crucially, changes in the tissue viscoelasticity and architecture at both the micro and macroscales form the basis of diagnostics ranging from self-assessment such as palpation and mammograms for breast cancer screening. In the last decade and a half, the concept that physical properties of the cells and tissues can also be as important as genetic determinants of cancer has spurned a field focused on harnessing these findings into efforts for targeted therapeutics. This meeting will bring together a diverse interdisciplinary group of researchers to discuss the most exciting discoveries and to parse out opportunities for applying understanding derived from the physical sciences to improve patient outcomes. The meeting has the following specific aims:

a) Share the latest findings on the physical sciences of cancer, identify and develop opportunities for improving the detection and treatment of cancer based on physical principles and methods

b) Use of tissue engineering principles to develop better cancer models

c) Equip and empower the next generation of researchers with the tools and network for success.

The program will have sessions dedicated to the physics of cell migration and metastasis, extracellular matrix mechanics, mechanobiology in cancer cell and immune interactions, physical aspects of cancer metabolism, application of quantitative methods and statistical physics to cancer data, theoretical modeling of cancer process, imaging cancer tissue mechanics, and towards novel physics-inspired cancer treatments.